IRL: Patrick Racing, Unser Jr to debut at Indy500

Racing secrets need only confirmation to go
from rumor to fact, and Pat Patrick, one of the founders of Championship
Auto Racing Teams, father of the Indy Lights series confirmed one of the
worst-kept pieces of information today. Patrick...

Racing secrets need only confirmation to go
from rumor to fact, and Pat Patrick, one of the founders of Championship
Auto Racing Teams, father of the Indy Lights series confirmed one of the
worst-kept pieces of information today. Patrick announced he will field a
#20 Dallara/Chevrolet in the Indy Racing League's IndyCar Series for Al
Unser Jr., beginning at the 88th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Steve Newey,
has been named vice president and technical director of the team.

Although contracts were just signed this morning, this deal has been in the
works for quite a while. Patrick initially spoke with Unser Jr. about
working together at the IRL's season finale at Texas Motor Speedway last
October. They had several conversations since that time but, Patrick said,
"It was very difficult to get the deal together."

Patrick sold all of his Champ Car assets over the winter and closed his
shop on Georgetown Road, releasing all members of his team to find work.
The new Patrick organization will be based in part of the Walker Racing
shops on Guion Road and many of the personnel currently employed by Walker
will be part of the new Patrick operation.

The choice of Al Unser Jr. as driver of the car came as the second-
generation driver was pushing hard to take on the position. "Al was very
instrumental in doing this," Patrick acknowledged. "He has a bad rap -
he's a helluva fine driver."

Unser is "extremely happy to be with Patrick Racing. I've raced against
the #20 car all these years and I'm happy to drive it instead. We would
have been at Homestead and here in Phoenix, but we were unable to get
sponsorship," Patrick noted. "We are not in position to name our sponsors
at this time but we have several things working."

Newey, who has worked with Patrick on and off over the years said the team
will take delivery of its first Dallara chassis a week from Monday and
hopes to do a shakedown run in mid-April prior to the open test at
Indianapolis April 27-28. "We're about 3/4 of the way to full staffing but
we may have to supplement a bit later."

One might wonder why Pat Patrick, who has been involved in open wheel
motorsports as a team owner for [now] 32 years would want to return to the
fray, having accomplished a great number of feats: 787 starts, two national
championships, and 45 victories. Mr. Patrick "wanted to come back to
Indianapolis. I wanted to give it another couple of years" before he
retires, feeling he has unfinished business at the Brickyard.

Chevy Indy V8 engines powered Patrick Racing to 10 CART victories, and
helped him win the 1989 Indy 500 and Indy Car World Series title with
Emerson Fittipaldi. Unser Jr. won 14 CART races, the 1990 championship and
the 1992 Indianapolis 500 with turbocharged Chevy Indy V8 engines and
scored his first two IRL wins with GM power.

The Patrick team will start their competition using the new 3-liter power
mill that all IRL competitors must fit in their cars for this year's
Indianapolis race. "GM Racing and Chevrolet are pleased to add a team
owner and driver who are proven winners to our IRL lineup," noted Joe
Negri, GM Racing IRL program manager. "Pat Patrick and Al Unser Jr. are
proven winners." With the addition of Patrick Racing's single-car entry,
the Chevrolet camp now has a total of six cars in the IndyCar Series.

Patrick was among the team owners who tried to produce conciliation between
the Indy Racing League and CART back in 1997. "We were diligent trying to
put a deal together then and I'm not sure cooler heads prevailed," he said.

Coincidentally, it was Mr. Patrick who helped orchestrate Firestone's
return to open wheel racing, initially with the Indy Lights series Patrick
founded. In 1993, with Newey as team manager, Patrick Racing and Firestone
formed a tire testing partnership, which led to the manufacturer's return
to IndyCar competition in 1995.